A New Lease on Life
by justagirl8225
Summary: Unexpected occurances force Lita to reevaluate her life. However, when management intervenes, all she can do is go along for the ride.


**A New Lease on Life **

**Disclaimer: **I own the WWE like I own a small country. Whatever you recognize, isn't mine.

**Spoilers: **psh, not likely.

**Rating: **T for language, but that's about it.

**Pairings: **Not overly important at this point, but Lillian/Batista and Jackie/Charlie are the only ones set .. for now.

**Summary: **Unexpected occurances force Lita to re-evaluate her life. However, when management intervenes, all she can do is go along for the ride.

**Notes: **Um, well .. Not too much to say as of right now. I say who's friends with who, capiche? Rosters split, yes. Lita/Kane married. No. Friends? Most definitely.. Other storylines used where I see fit and/or altered to my liking. Also, I'm adding in something from the RAW re-match between Trish and Christy. Enough with the babble, on with the prologue!

………………………….

_My life has been one great big joke,  
A dance that's walked,  
A song that's spoke,  
I laugh so hard I almost choke,  
When I think about myself.  
Maya Angelou_

**Prologue: The Downward Spiral**

_Parking Garage, Staples Center, Los Angeles California_

Victoria raked a hand through her hair, dark eyes scrutinizing the group assembled in the parking lot. Currently waiting with the raven haired Diva were fellow RAW stars: Lillian Garcia, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Christy Hemme, Christian, Tyson Tomko, Stacy Keibler, and newly crowned champion Dave Batista. Also amongst the masses were Smackdown stars: Dawn Marie, Miss Jackie, Charlie Haas, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. And as the masses shifted in near unison amongst the rental cars and limos, the general wave of anxiousness swept through again. By their estimates, they were ready to leave the arena, most of them had been ready for quite some time. However, the absence of one more person prevented the departure from the arena.

Lita.

They had been awaiting the arrival of the Queen of Extreme for the past ten minutes .. If not longer. She had claimed she would be there as soon as she could, and even insisted that Christy go on ahead. The RAW Diva search winner had been reluctant to comply, but Lita had been persistent. Sardonically, she had informed the natural redhead that she would only slow her down. And now, as another minute ticked by, Christy was starting to regret her decision. The group at large was ready to leave the parking lot and grab a bite to eat before they went back to the hotel. In particular the Smackdown crew as they had to be up a little bit earlier than their RAW counterparts. Granted, the trip from Los Angeles to San Diego wasn't very far, but still. It was the principle of the thing.

Dawn let out a short sigh, "Maybe we should call her or something.."

Chris Jericho snorted, "And do what? Encourage her to hobble her ass out here faster? Tell her to steal one of the golf carts or something so she can get here?"

Dawn smirked, "No you moron…we've been waiting for her for almost fifteen minutes. At least. This isn't like her."

"Well it's not like she can run or anything.." Eddie shrugged his shoulders, "Just be patient mamacita, our Lita will join us."

Dawn shrugged in turn, perching on the hood of a nearby rental. "I'm just saying that's all .. Maybe we should go back and get her."

"Well," Chris Jericho spoke up then, "Considering that the dirty, disgusting, brutal-"

"Do you have a point Chris?"

Jericho rolled his eyes, "Trish put Li in a half crab, the little slut purposely put Li's bad leg in a half crab…and yeah, it was intended but that doesn't mean something couldn't have happened."

"Yeah but," Victoria shrugged, "She was fine in the trainers room."

"Or so she may have said to get the trainers off her back.." Chris Benoit reasoned with a slight frown. "Lita's as stubborn as any of us."

"So, what should we do then?" Dawn queried to the group, "Wait or go and get her?"

"Why don't we wait a few more minutes," Lillian offered to the group at large, "And if she hasn't arrived by that point-"

"We've been waiting a few more minutes for the past ten minutes," Christian pointed out then. "And gimpy leg or not, Li would've been out here by now."

Chris Benoit cleared his throat, "Then perhaps one of us should go back and assist her? For all we know she's on her way and knowing her, if any of the arena crew tried to help-"

"She'd just brush them off." Rey concluded then, "So who's going?"

"I'll go.." Victoria piped up before anyone else could volunteer. "I'll be back, and hopefully with Lita in tow. If I'm not back in five minutes? Wait longer." the raven haired Diva tossed her hair over shoulder, weaving through the bodies to re-enter the building.

Christian leaned back against another rental car, Captain Charisma preparing to say something when a loud grumble of a nearby stomach interrupted.

All eyes fixated on Tyson Tomko then, the Problem Solver offering a blank look and a short shrug in response.

……………

The raven haired Diva frowned as she trekked back through the empty corridors of the arena. Chris Benoit had made a very good point. What if Lita was more injured than she already was and just hadn't said anything? After working with the redhead in question, Victoria was certain that Lita wouldn't lie in this case. Her knee injury had been a blow in the first place, and the raven haired Diva knew that all Lita wanted was to get back to 100. Logically, that would mean the redhead should accept and take any advice the trainers had to give. But again, given the Diva in question, Victoria had her slight doubts. At any rate, her casual pace quickened as she turned the corner .. The shared locker room of Christy and Lita not far off in the distance. However, as she got closer, her frown deepened. The door was slightly ajar and the lights were still on in the locker room.

"Li?" Victoria beckoned as she neared closer, "Lita honey, do you want some help?"

The raven haired Dive received no response to her query, and as she finally reached the locker room; her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Lita!" Victoria exclaimed as she dropped to her knees, the redhead in question sprawled out on the locker room floor.

The raven haired Diva's breath caught in her throat as she took a moment to survey the scene before her. Lita's crutches were laying haphazardly on either side of the fallen redhead, while her gym bag was somehow cushioned beneath a pale cheek. What frightened Victoria the most, however, was the open orange bottle laying nearest to the redhead. The cap wasn't far off, and Victoria also caught sight of a few painkillers littering the floor. Cool liquid from the empty water bottle nearby soaked into Victoria's jeans. Were things really that bad for the redhead? The raven haired Diva bit her lower lip, concern flooding her features. If anyone, Lita would've told her if something was wrong.

'_Or she may have told the trainers that she wasn't to get them off her back_.'

'The pain, of course! That would explain the pills so maybe Chris was right..'

Victoria frowned again as Benoit's words echoed in her mind. Still though, with that lingering sense of doubt, the raven haired Diva reached out a hand to find a pulse. For all purposes the redhead looked like she was sleeping, but her skin was far too pale .. And her breathing so shallow.. The pulse Victoria found, was so faint that panic almost set in. If the redhead was in this state, how long had she been laying there like this? A tear that she had been trying to hold back, slowly trickled down her cheek. If they had only gotten to her sooner ..

"I'm sorry Li.." Victoria whispered as she brushed the redhead's hair from her cool face. "I'm so sorry.."

The light rise and fall of the redhead's chest sparked some hope in Victoria's mind .. But now it was matter of getting her out of the arena and to a hospital. Whether this had stemmed from Lita's stubborn streak or from ..well, the raven haired Diva didn't want to think _that. _Determined, she shook her head, weighing the options as to how she was going to get her out of the locker room. She thought about calling for help, but squashed that thought down. The group still waiting was out in the parking garage, and the arena crew .. Well she wasn't quite sure where they were at this point. Victoria reasoned they were still occupied with gathering the chairs in the stands, breaking down the stage and what not .. Otherwise, they would've tried to find them earlier. She could try by herself, but with the redhead's current dead weight Victoria wasn't quite sure as to how far they would get. But, that would be better than waiting it out for the arena crew to come by. The main priority was getting Lita out of the arena by whatever means possible. With a heavy sigh, Victoria slowly rose from her prone stance, rolling up her sleeves in preparation.

Just as Victoria was reaching down to gather the redhead's slumped body, approaching footsteps halted her movements.

"Victoria?" Batista leaned against the wall just outside the locker room, "Is everything alright?"

"No.." Victoria fought to keep her voice from wavering, "Dave I really need your help!"

The newly crowned World Champion raised a brow but moved none the less.. "Dear God.."

"I..I found her like this," Victoria's lower lip trembled as tears threatened to give way. "she's still breathing but-"

"Grab her stuff." Batista ordered shortly, thankful then that Lillian had told him to go check on the two Diva's. "I'll take care of her, just grab her stuff."

The raven haired Diva nodded numbly, gathering the crutches and the empty pill bottle before she reached for the gym bag. She watched on as Dave gently gathered the redhead in his arms, her head lolling forwards he arranged her in his grip. And once she had the gym bag, Dave nodded in response. If not for the dire situation, Victoria would've smiled. It was odd how the cluster came to be, and though Shane Helms and Shelton were absent, the post show outing started as it always had. When Dave had begun dating Lillian, he was the first to be accepted into the then small group. Said group consisting of Lita, Christy, Stacy, Chris Jericho, Shane Helms, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit and herself. And on the Smackdown side of things, there was Jackie, Charlie, Dawn, Eddie, Rey, Rob and on occasion Shannon Moore and John Cena. When Christian had joined them .. It was a bit of an enigma. Things had been rough at first, but soon enough Christian went from being the Creepy Little Bastard to being Captain Charisma. And when Christian had joined them, so had Tyson. To the rest of the roster, both on RAW and Smackdown, the group was an odd mix. But for their purposes it worked.. A group forged from long existing friendships and ties.

And now, perhaps, that group would be tested like it hadn't been before.

…………

There was a collective sigh of relief as Victoria finally exited the arena, as there were more than a few grumbling stomachs between them by that point. But as soon as the relieved looks flooded over, looks of concern, quickly flashed. Dawn, Stacy, Christy and Jackie gawked openly when Batista stepped into view, Lillian's hands flying to her face at the sight. Chris Jericho, Eddie and Rey all stepped forwards while Christian seemed to be glued to the spot. All eyes turned expectantly to Victoria then, Chris Benoit asking the question that weighed on their minds.

"I don't know what happened.." Victoria confessed quietly, "I found her like that .. And I-"

"That's all we need for now Victoria," Chris Benoit re-assured softly. "Right now, let's just get her to the hospital."

"We'll take the limo." Batista mentioned then, "I'm not going to sit around and wait for an ambulance .. So if you want to come with me, get in the limo."

"We'll follow behind you," Christian finally spoke, nudging the Problem Solver. "Anyone else?"

"I'm coming with you and Lil." Victoria mentioned as she tossed the crutches and gym bag into the trunk. "Why don't we just meet at the ER?"

"I'll call Shane or Stephanie." Dawn offered before they split for separate rental cars. "Or should I call Vince?"

"It doesn't matter .. So long as one of them is informed." Benoit nodded shortly, "I'm sure one of them will also inform Bischoff."

"Right." Dawn grasped her cell phone with a shaky hand, settling in the backseat of Jackie and Charlie's rental. "We'll see you all at the hospital."

There was a sea of nods, the group at large splitting to separate rental cars, following in a small convoy behind the white limo.

Lillian smiled gently to the raven haired Diva as they settled into the limo. "She'll be alright Vikki.."

"I hope so.." Victoria whispered brokenly, "I just don't know what to do.."

"She's one tough cookie," Lillian stated fondly, a hand reaching out to take one of Lita's. "I know she'll pull through.."

Victoria could only nod then, sending a silent prayer up that Lita would walk away from this okay.


End file.
